PJO: Rising Discord
by Dratsabguy
Summary: AU OCs: It's been nearly six months since the battle to defend Olympus from the Titan Kronos and his armies. Follow Mary Stanton as she road trips to camp, makes friends, searches for a missing Percy, and learns how to save the world... kinda.
1. Chapter 1: Crazy Mary

Chapter One: Crazy Mary

Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.

Chapter One: Crazy Mary

* * *

It must have been one of those 'make my life hell' days, because nothing and I mean nothing was going right for me. You name it and I was having it happen to me. The power went out in my family's house, I was late getting up thanks to my alarm clock not going off, the bus was late on the coldest morning we could get in Florida, I stepped in gum, the list kind of goes on. But the most annoying thing was that Brittany, this stupid snobby ass of a cheerleader, decided that it was about time to find someone new to make the target of her bullying, and I happened to be passing by as she was considering new candidates.

I was in the middle of lunch when a pair of her jock boy toys tilted a garbage can onto me, needless to say I was covered in a rather nasty assortment of shit people had never finished eating and then some. I was fuming on my way to the locker room to get my gym clothes as I began wondering just how good Florida's finest would be at solving a multiple homicide when I turned a corner at high speed and almost smashed into my friend Oswald. He recoiled as he coughed several times at the smell before he caught sight of me under it all. "Mary?" He asked in disbelief as he started to ask what happened.

"Brittany." My tone of voice said it all as I started walking again, trying to keep from gagging on the smell that encased me. He started to hobble beside me, his crutches tapping on the floor. I should probably mention that he has some kind of muscular problem in his legs, I can never remember the name of it. But he was doing pretty good at keeping pace, even if he was trying to stay upwind of me.

"Uh, Mary. There's gum stuck in your hair." I stopped dead in my tracks as my hands went up and started to go through my black hair until I found a large wad of gum stuck smack dab in the middle of it. I wanted to cry, and bitch, and punch everything within a five hundred mile radius at that moment. Oswald patted me on the shoulder as I had a moment of inner violence, picturing what it would be like to strangle Brittany with barbed wire or something equally horrific. We made it into the gym office and my teacher, Mrs Young kindly snipped the gum out of my hair and excused me from gym class so I could get cleaned up.

I soaked in the locker room shower long enough to wash the stink off me, but I was still getting a strong case of the murders as the day went on. People kept staring and when the hell that was high school finally ended, I was on my way to the bus when I caught sight of Brittany and her pack of hyenas. I thought I might actually control my temper long enough to make it onto the bus, but then she had to open her mouth. Not just a simple snide remark, no sir, she had to yell it at me like I was on the other side of the world.

"Hey Mary! Don't you ever bathe? You smell like a trash can!" A torrent of laughter spread from her pack of satanic minions and some bystanders, who I guess got the joke, started laughing too. Some random wannabe let out the usual "oh snap son!" but as I whirled around to go punch her in the head, the only thing that I really got to see was a wave of trash wash over the cheerleaders who shrieked in the most horrified, but amusing manner before someone whooped like they belonged in the Three Stooges and took off running. I caught a familiar tapping coming up behind me as I had to smile.

"Don't thank me, it was his idea." Oswald said as I turned around and hugged him. Since I can remember, he's always been watching out for me like a brother. Of course he'd probably be an older brother given how it looked like he'd been held back a few times with that stubble sprouting from his chin. It occurred to me that now I had to thank Jake too since he was the one who'd gotten a pack of cheerleaders pissed at him. We'd been sitting on the bus recapping the whole thing when I caught sight of a mess of blond hair whistling happily by our window. We saw the Stooge coming on board, rubbing his fingernails against his shirt while approaching us, we applauded him and he just bowed before taking a seat in front of us. I just smirked as I leaned over the back of the seat and hugged his neck.

"Mary, please. I've had enough women lusting after me for one afternoon." He said in faux exhaustion, but the Cheshire cat grin on his face didn't help his case. I lightly whopped him in the head playfully. Sitting back down, the two of them recounted the events leading up to that incident. While Jake looked proud of himself, I told him how simple of a prank it was compared to his usual stuff and he just shrugged. If there is one word that fits Jake, it's Prankster. The guy once made a lawn diorama with roadkill in a rare winter time where we actually had snow. He did this on a guys front lawn who had threatened to beat Oswald with his own crutches for spilling something on the guys shoes. Jake says he doesn't know what anyone is talking about, but I've seen the photos he keeps stashed away. It looked like he was going for a production of Shakespeare.

Eventually I gave them each one more hug for making my day a little better before getting off the bus and hurriedly getting home as I was still in my gym clothes and didn't wanna freeze my ass off. As I slipped in my front door, I shuddered and was thankful I didn't live further up North because it was cold enough for me as it was.

After a change of clothes and some homework(at least the homework I could do without my dyslexia throwing a fit), my Dad came home. Needless to say, he was not happy. Not because of me, but rather the people they let into school these days. People like Brittany and her flying monkeys. As if to try and make amends for having a shitty day, he took me out to get a proper hair cut, bought dinner from this hole in the wall deli place that I'd come to love, then spent the evening hanging out with me. It was the best way to end the day I had really.

As everything was winding down, I washed up and went to my room. I collapsed onto my bed and managed to shuffle my way under the sheets before hitting the light and letting the sweet warmth of sleep take me.

* * *

The Dream was surreal to say the least. I felt weightless as I floated through clouds before they gave way to a floating city. It looked like someone was making a movie set for some Ancient Roman or Greek movie but they surrounded it with clouds like they were using an army of fog machines to shroud the place. I seemed to float through the city, watching all manner of people and bizarre fairy tale creatures milling, shopping, singing, dancing, and every thing you could imagine.

Some buildings had scaffolding around them as they were being built, some even looked like they were being rebuilt as they had black scorch marks still being polished away form their white marble surfaces(or in some cases brilliant gleaming gold). After what seemed like an eternity of marveling at this city, I found myself being guided into the largest building of them all. I seemed to pass right through the doors as if I was ghost or something before I found myself faced with a ground of massive, twenty foot tall people all arguing. Eventually the man seated at the head of this assembly, rose to his feet and let his voice boom through the hell, lightning flashing through the clouds as thunder rolled across the heavens.

I felt myself shiver as if the temperature dropped, but as the I seemed to settle onto my feet, I could hear them clearly as I seemed to rest edge of the assembly. The angry man on his feet seemed to glower before he looked to the woman sitting beside him. She was beautiful with long, brown hair the color of chocolate that was braided with golden ribbons. She sat with her eyes closed in a regal manner, as if contemplating some great problem before at last they opened and her brown eyes shifted to the man standing beside her.

There were conversations all around, but the image started to fade, almost like the world was dimming and I was the only one who noticed. The dream shifted up from what looked like a pool as it seemed to be in some dark throne room looking place, the only light was a row of dim torches lighting a set of pillars around the empty room. A woman dressed in black rested on the throne but I couldn't make out any of her features as she reclined like a lioness regarding pray. The only other truly visible figure I could see was a sickly pale woman who bowed before she turned to leave, walking past me without a glance in my direction.

The woman on the thrown must have smiled, cause I could see light glinting off perfect teeth which reminded me too much of a serial killer as the light danced off her eyes. As I looked at her, I felt uneasy, like I was about to be ripped in different directions or the world was about to shudder and fall into complete Anarchy. When she spoke, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"The dominoes are lining up, I can't wait to knock them over." She said in a voice that seemed like she was talking to someone else. The hall shuddered as someone spoke in turn to her comment, the sound of it seemed to come out of the walls themselves.

"_Fail me not child, if you succeed then my rise shall bring a new era_." The new voice sounded like a much older woman, raspy and bitter like this old lady I knew that used to smoke a lot.

* * *

A loud thunder clap woke me up with a start. I let my heart get back to what most medical professionals considered normal and took note of the sound of rain pelting the house, the dream was fading rapidly from my mind until the only thing I remember of it was darkness. I tried to recall if there was a storm front supposed to be passing through the area but my bladder let me know that there were more important things to focus on right now. I slipped out of my bed and yawned while opening my door quietly. The house didn't have the thinnest walls and I didn't wanna wake up my Dad so late in the night since my bedside clock had said it was close to midnight.

Creeping downstairs, I wished the bathroom upstairs wasn't undergoing a renovation as it made for annoyingly drawn out trips when one had to pee. As I crept, I eventually hit the bottom and stopped as I saw a light was on downstairs in the living room. At first I figured Dad must have forgotten to turn it off before going to bed, but then I heard the sound of voices coming from that very room. One of them belonged to my Dad, that much I could tell. It took a moment for my half asleep brain to recognize Oswald's voice.

Moving down the hall I wondered what Oz was doing in my house with my Dad when I started to actually make out parts of their conversation. I stopped as I wanted to hear what was going on, Oswald taking a moment to speak. "I'm sorry Mr. Stanton, but it's not safe for her here anymore. A monster is sniffing around, and now that I confirmed there are two half-bloods here, it will be coming for them. I need to take her to camp soon anyway, she's way past due."

Camp? Half-blood? What the hell are you talking about Ozzy? I was so focused on their conversation that I didn't notice the bathroom door behind me opening, let alone the flushing of the toilet. When someone put a hand on my shoulder, I damn near jumped out of my skin as I shrieked in surprise. Whirling around I saw a bewildered Jake standing there staring at me like he hadn't expected to scare the hell out of me.

"Mary? What are you doing up?" My Dad was a bit surprised to see me, but I quickly excused myself and slammed the bathroom door. I need to punch Jake in the head when I get out. Stupid fucker, scaring me like that. I mentally grumbled. Eventually I was drying my hands after I finished my business, opening the door to see everyone standing there waiting for me. My Dad repeated his question but I just had him hold on a minute as I slapped Jake up the backside of his head. My Dad did not approve.

"He scared the piss out of me... almost literally! Besides, what are they doing here in the dead of night?" I asked, jerking a thumb towards Oz and Jake. They fidgeted a bit as my Dad cleared his throat. Then my brain remembered fragments of their conversation, "And what's this crap about monsters and half-bloods? Dad are you getting them into that DnD stuff?"

Dad frowned while Jake just leaned against the wall, rubbing his head where I slapped him. Oswald seemed to sigh way too heavily before he made everyone go into the living room which was well lit and such. Oswald stood in front of us while we sat on the couch. I half expected him to try and do a jig, which would have been a feat given his legs made him require crutches. It was then that I noticed that he wasn't using them. I was about to say something when I looked to his legs. I didn't notice it in the darkened hallway, but now in the light they were shaggy, moving down I saw his feet were hooves. He saw I was staring and looked down.

"Ozzy." I said as I didn't break my gaze away from his goat legs.

"Yeah?"

"What the fuck is wrong with your legs?"

"Mary!" My father barked, I was too stunned to pay attention to him.

"Uh, well, you see... I'm a Satyr." Oswald smiled weakly as if he was breaking the news to me that I was crazy or something. "Mary, how much do you know about the Greek Gods?"

"Is that the ones with Thor and Odin? No wait, Thor was something else." I didn't really pay attention to old myths. Hell, when class was studying the Odyssey, I was out sick with Mono, not fun. Oswald offered to make up the assignment for me so I let him. Walked away with an easy A out of it. I stopped trying to strain my brain and finally just shrugged as I admitted I didn't know squat about the Greek Gods. All three of them wanted to face palm, I could see it. "What?! So I don't know about some old myths, big whoop."

A bolt of lightning light up the room as it struck a tree across the street. We all jumped, but Oswald was visibly shaking as he swallowed. "I'd watch what you call a myth during a thunderstorm, Mary. Look at me, they called Satyrs mythical creatures, yet here I am. Mary, the Gods are real, as real as you and me. I say this because..." He looked to my Dad as if for an approval, with a sigh and a nod, Oswald was given the okay to continue. "Because your Mother was one. I'm not entirely sure who yet, but once you go to camp you'll be claimed."

My eyebrow quirked up in skepticism, "Lets say I believe you, what's this claimed business? What am I, a piece of luggage? And why do I have to go to a camp? Why can't she claim me here? Oh yeah and lets not forget this one, where is this mystical little camp? Come on Oz, this whole thing sounds crazy. What's really going on?" I asked as Oswald opened his mouth to answer he froze. His face turned white as a sheet as he sniffed the air.

"We're gonna need to discuss this on the road. The monster is getting closer." I was about to ask but my Dad quickly picked me up and ran upstairs, Oswald and Jake on his heels. He put me down in my room and told me to pack, Oswald telling me what to pack, and Jake looking just as confused as I was. As I packed, Oswald and my Dad had a heated discussion about getting to this camp. I would stop to ask questions but they'd both bark at me to keep packing. I was starting to get worried, correction; I was getting scared. Something had them both spooked but I wasn't sure what and I didn't believe in monsters so it was hard to tell what was making them so flustered.

No sooner had I finished packing then my Dad pushed Oz and Jake out before telling me to get dressed. When the door had closed was I alone to think without their background noise to derail my train of thought. The lightning outside however wasn't making things any less tense as I started switching from pajamas into fresh clothes. What the hell is going on? Monsters can't be real, I mean... Satyrs aren't... Oh God, am I going crazy? Maybe my Dad knew what he was doing when he named me after that Pearl Jam song. As I starting tying my sneakers it dawned on me. They had said my Mom was a Greek God, well Goddess I suppose is the right term. Did that mean I'd even get to meet her? Even then, what kind of Goddess finds a small time ex-Vegas magician/illusionist her ideal pick?

Running my hands through my hair, I prayed that everything was a bad dream before grabbing my coat, packed bag, and opening the door into the hallway. I heard more talking again.

"Are you sure it isn't just Jake the monsters after? Maybe Mary is still safe." My Dad pushed with concern in his voice.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stanton, but Mary knows she's a half-blood now. That just makes the scent even stronger."

"Then why did you tell her if it would make it worse?!"

"Because she had a stronger scent to begin with. I tracked her here, finding Jake was merely a fluke. While his scent has gotten stronger since he realized, hers is starting to really pick up. She has to go to camp now... I hate to say this, but she may need to be a year-rounder. I hope not, but if she does then... I'm sorry."

There was a thump, from my Dad punching the wall I assumed. I felt my heart pound as I didn't like the way Ozzy had said 'year-rounder'. I made my way downstairs and as I came into view, my Dad turned away but I could see he was rubbing his hand. There was also a new fist sized hole in the wall. Oswald looked at me before asking the obviously stupid question, "Ready to go?"

"No." I replied without hesitation but Oswald simply opened the door and headed out with Jake.

"Might wanna say good bye, but don't be too long. That thing is getting closer." Oz said with a final sympathetic look my way before he went outside into the freezing rain.

My Dad and I stepped out onto the porch and stood there for a moment. The silence between us was starting to worry me. I looked at him and saw he had his jaw clenched and his eyes shut. Is he crying? I walked over and hugged my Dad as I tried to keep from crying myself. I felt like I was being kidnapped semi-willingly. My Dad just put his arm around me and told me to be safe, don't wander too far from Oswald, and never leave my bag unattended. He made it sound like I was actually just going to camp for a while but I knew the conversation he had with Oswald still haunted him. Hugging him tighter I just said I'd be careful before Oswald honked the horn of the car he was in and I jumped off the porch and ran to the car, not looking back. That was until I heard the loudest thud come from behind me.

"Mary! Get your ass in the car now!" Oz screamed at me. My feet rushed me to the car as I clambered inside and slammed the door shut, looking back at the house. Lightning flashed and for a slip second I saw the thing that Oswald was scared of. A large silhouette started rising off the roof of my families two story home, beady eyes glowering at me before it let out this horrible shrieking sound like a snake and a lion trying to roar.

The car peel off into the night as it leapt at us.


	2. Chapter 2: Have Slim Jim, Will Travel

Chapter Two: Have Slim Jim, Will Travel

Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.

Chapter Two: Have Slim Jim, Will Travel

* * *

"Jake, I swear if this is your doing I'll make sure you sing soprano for the rest of your life!" I threatened as the car zoomed through the storm on the highway as we continued to speed away from my house, the fear kicking my anxiety a bit high as my desperation that this was all some kind of bad dream or possibly some horrible prank that Jake had gotten my Dad and best friend to agree to. Either way, Jake was holding up his hands as he tried his best to stammer out some kind of plausible reason but all he could think up was to say that it was Oswald's myths.

Oz flinched when Jake said myth as another bolt of lightning blasted across the sky. He quickly snapped at both of us to calm down and stop throwing the 'M' word around as he kept his eyes glued to the road. I turned around and sank into my seat as I pulled my jacket tighter around me. Glancing at Ozzy as he kept his foot... hoof... whatever, on the gas pedal. "I think we got away, I don't think it can catch a car doing... Holy crap, Ozzy! Slow down!"

Ozzy looked down at the speedometer and blinked before pulling his foot up and gently tapped on the brakes. The car slowed from somewhere close to eighty miles an hour to forty-five like it was supposed to be traveling, as stated by the speed limit signs. Clearing his throat, our half goat friend focused on driving the car. As he did, an awkward silence fell upon the three of us and we all kind of kept to ourselves.

I'm not sure what the other two were thinking but I was starting to wish I was legal drinking age. Whatever was going on, it wasn't funny and at this point I was pretty sure it was all real. I almost wanted to pinch myself to be sure but something told me it wouldn't do any good. Staring out the window, I felt my mind scream to have Oz pull the car over and start answering questions, but something told me that too wasn't going to do any good. Screaming at him was the last thing I wanted to do, I just wanted to go home. I started to feel that fear ripple up from my stomach. As I sat there in silence I did the only thing a person could do when there was no other alternative after a burst of fear and adrenaline had swept through you. I fell asleep when it wore off.

* * *

I woke up to Oswald screeching like a cat being tossed around in a burlap sack and thought something was happening but in that moment I noticed that the radio was belting out some music. He must have seen me spasm or something because his hand immediately shot out and turned the volume down as I swore there was red creeping across his face, "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, the swarm of monkeys doing their mating call did." I responded before squinting from the midday sun that was now shining down on the stretch of highway before us. Cars were all around and we were cruising at a steady speed from the looks of it. I squirmed and twisted myself in my seat before I went too far and caused myself to get a leg cramp which I proceeded to punch, massage, and curse at until it went away. Oswald found this highly amusing. I heard a metallic crunching noise and looked over to see him munching on an AMP energy drink can, like the can was a potato chip or something. The only thing that clicked in my head was the need for caffeine.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked while pointing at the can.

"Huh?" Oz seemed confused before he looked at the can in his hand, "Oh, we made a pit stop while you were asleep. You were pretty out of it. We got you a sandwich, some chips, and a soda. They should be in the back seat." With that he chomped on the can again as I turned and examined the chaos of Slim Jim wrappers that littered the back seat. It looked like Jake had gorged himself on the meat sticks then passed out in some kind of food coma given how he had a half eaten one sitting in his hand still as he lay sprawled across the back seat. I spotted a grocery bag with the stuff Ozzy mentioned and snatched it up before righting myself in my seat.

I was about to dig into my sandwich when it dawned on me that my friend was eating a soda can. Looking over at his legs I saw they were still furry. I was too numb from last night to truly care enough about trying to block the entire thought process out of my mind long enough to eat something, so instead I just ate. I tore through the sandwich with swigs of a Coke spaced in between bites, managing to keep all cognitive thought back long enough but once I opened my bag of chips I couldn't resist asking myself questions. My mind started to become a hornets nest of questions without answers, or at least ones I didn't know the answer to. I looked out the window as I silently chewed on a potato chip, it wasn't until a hand that wasn't mine entered the bag and snagged a chip that I came back to reality. "Thief!"

"I figured you wouldn't notice since I'd called your name a few times now. You seemed to be spacing out." Oz said before munching on the chip. I defended my chips from future advances as he gave me a sideways smile.

"I wasn't spacing out, I was thinking... kind of. I have questions Oz and I'd really like some answers."

Oswald sighed as he stopped trying to take my chips and put his hands on the wheel. "Honestly, I would have liked to have just left you in Florida to live a normal life, Jake too. But that wouldn't be safe especially now that you know you're half bloods."

"How do you know I'm a half blood? What makes you so sure I'm some kind of, what was it? Demigod?" Oz nodded so I continued, "What makes you so sure? What if you just revealed yourself to some kind of normal kid and left the real demigod behind by mistake?"

"Can you see my legs as they really are? Could you see that thing that came at us last night? That means you can see through the Mist. Most mortals can't do that. Even then, there's a smell to demigods that sets you apart from regular Mortals. The minute I told you who you really were, the smell grew by leaps and bounds. Even if you don't believe it, it won't change what you are."

"Then why did you tell me?! Why not just let me live in ignorance and go about a normal life?" I demanded. He sighed and shook his head like it wasn't that simple.

"I said your smell grew, not that it wasn't there. That monster was already following your scent, it would have taken longer but eventually it would have found you. It was better to tell you now and get you to safety than to leave you in the dark. Besides, the rules upstairs got amended in a way. All half bloods are being claimed by their godly parents, meaning we need to inform them of who they are and get them to camp."

"Amended? What the hell does that mean?" I barked, the answers he was giving me only left me with more questions. I started pressing for what he meant by amended rules but all I got was him locking his jaw and steeling himself. It was like he was trying to hold back something painful, that was probably the only reason I stopped pushing him for answers at that moment. Instead I folded my arms and leaned against the car door, not bothering to finish my chips or soda as I stared out the window.

* * *

Time had soothed me to a state of calm that could hold conversation without having to raise my voice. That and after I got tired of the silence I had taken control of the radio and that started an interesting debate as Oswald had this bizarre impression I'd let him run with Winchester car rules. This means that 'Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts their cake hole'. That started a button pressing war on the radio which somehow turned into a bizarre game of who could find the better station.

Before long we were passing through a place with drive through and we pulled into a parking lot, waking up Jake so we could all get food. I hadn't even noticed that the sun was already starting to go down as it had been closer to noon last time I had check(which might have been when I woke up). I was about to get out of the car when I noticed Oz was shifting around in his seat as he pulled on a pair of slacks. "Where the hell did those come from?"

"Tucked into the back of my seat." With that he put on the pants, having a little trouble toward the end thanks to his goat legs, that and he tried his hardest to keep fur from getting caught in his zipper, he then grabbed some shoes with these weird inserts and put them on his feet. Eventually he reached under some of the bags and Slim Jim wrappers before pulling a fedora out of nowhere.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked before letting out a big yawn.

"Making myself look somewhat presentable. After all, three teens on a road trip looks a little suspicious. This way I look a little older and come on, you'd think I was a college student like this, right?" He asked, presenting himself from the driver's seat. I looked him over and had to admit, nicer clothes that didn't scream 'dag nab teenager' made me nod my head. Plus the small beard growing on his face helped add that dash of older slacker that I'd seen in most college students when they didn't shave or trim up their goatees or beards.

"Well I suppose that now the question becomes where do we eat?" Jake asked not knowing the debate that it would bring. I wasn't in the mood for Taco Hell and neither was Ozzy. Eventually we decided on Burger King, mostly because they had veggie burgers that Ozzy could eat. After a trip into their lobby, we returned to the car and sat on the trunk as we ate in relative silence until after we'd finished about half our food.

"So where are we headed anyway?" Jake asked before taking a sip of his soda.

Oz was about to say something but remember to swallow what he was chewing first before clearing his throat, "Long Island, New York."

"New York as in the 'Big Apple' New York?" I asked a bit shocked by the actual destination more than the trip itself. Oz raised a hand and twisted it a few times while making a face.

"Kinda but not really. We'll be passing through it since I'm sure the city will mask the scent of two half-bloods. Still, I'm not sure you're gonna enjoy the view from inside a car stuck in traffic. And before you ask, no. We're not gonna make any pit stops or detours, not while we're gonna be chased by a monster the entire way." Oz pointed a stern finger at both of us. We whined but ultimately nodded in agreement.

"What kind of monster is it anyway?" I asked, wanting to know what exactly was chasing us. Our Satyr friend just shook his head in response.

"I'm not sure yet. I've never smelled something like it before, but I'm sure I'd know what it is if I got a good look at it. Still, we've managed to stay ahead of it this long, we might be able to make it to Camp without any real problems if we're lucky." I held up both my hands with my fingers crossed as he said that while Ozzy did some strange hand motions with three fingers drawn across his heart. I may have been curious to know what was after us but I wasn't THAT curious. The thing I'd seen in the shadows on my roof that night was huge and I wasn't looking to see if it wanted to talk things out. "Now then, if you guys have any questions, ask them in the car. We need to get moving."

* * *

We'd gotten a lot of information out of Ozzy, I was close to saying too much after a while. It was still hard to take in that Greek Gods, Satyrs, and monsters were all very real. Sitting in silence for probably the past forty five minutes, I let my mind digest everything I'd heard and after seeing Ozzy like he was without his 'disguise' on, I couldn't very well deny it in the end. I was having trouble struggling to restrain myself from saying the 'M' word when I did talk about things, Jake on the other hand was asking if being a half-blood came with any benefits.

"Seriously? You're thrust into a what's most likely a world of danger and the first thing on your mind is what kind of 'super powers' you're gonna get?" I asked incredulously while giving him a look. He just shrugged with that stupid smirk on his face.

"I can't help it, I'm an optimist." He tossed out which I promptly scoffed at while turning around in my seat. I looked out at the dark countryside as Jake tried to blather on about being superman or something as I ignored him. I noticed the scenery was starting to slow down and the car tires emitted a noise like they were going onto the gravel covered sides of the road. I quickly whirled my head around and saw Ozzy put it into park.

"What's wrong? Tired?" I asked but Ozzy just shook his head. He looked troubled and I quickly began to wish he had a better poker face.

"I don't know how, but that thing is in front of us. It's in the town ahead of us." We all looked out and we could see a sign not too far away in the head lights of the car that named a place called Culpeper, which also stated was in Virginia.

"Great, we're gonna die in the boonies of Virginia." Jake sighed.

"I thought you were an optimist?" I snidely threw toward the back seat as he flipped me off. I returned the bird back at him as Ozzy tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

"We can either test our luck or try to turn around and look for a way around. I'm not sure how long that would take, but doubling back seems just as risky if you ask me." Ozzy said, presenting us with two options. Jake thrust his body half way into the front seat as he pointed forward and yelled 'CHARGE!' right in our ears.

"FUCK! Asshole!" I shouted as I smacked his shoulder a few times until he retreated to the backseat. Ozzy was shaking his head before snapping his fingers near his ears to check his hearing. "Do that again and I'll beat your ass, Jake!" I threatened as he apologized but it was between chuckles so I knew it wasn't exactly sincere.

"Mary, what's your opinion?" Ozzy asked after we simmered down. I took a slow deep breath and looked at the town in front of us and weighed the possibilities. Either way could be dangerous since this thing might catch up to us if we double back. But if we go straight we might jump straight into the lions den with a chance to pushing forward and not wasting time.

"Honestly? It's a risk either way... we may as well press our luck." I sighed, getting that sinking feeling begin to creep its way into my gut. Oswald seemed as hesitant about going forward as me, but he shifted the car back into drive and pulled onto the road, moving forward through the darkness until we started driving through some old town looking part of Culpeper(if you could even call it that). We were reaching the edge of that particular part of town when Oz pumped on the brakes. Luckily the car didn't make a squealing noise because as we all looked forward, we could see the monster.

For the first time we had a good look at this thing under the street lights. It was long, possibly a solid 20 feet in length and it's body was as thick as a tree trunk. As for what it looked like, the best I could ever describe it was a giant snake with chicken legs and wings. It was sniffing the ground and when it found something interesting it swung its tail around and of course that's when we saw that it had a head on the end of the tail.

"Back the car up, maybe we can get away before it sees us." Jake whispered, and as if on que, one head looked up and sniffed while staring at us. The noise it made when the thing opened its mouth as like a roar mixed with a loud hiss as it bared a crap ton of small sharp teeth and a pair of really big fangs that seemed to drip something.

Ozzy shifted the car into reverse as we peeled backwards, luckily the other cars on the street were parked and off as the monster charged at us. "Just ram the thing!" Jake yelled as I started screaming, Oswald proceeded to yank the wheel to the side as the car twisted around a corner and hit the brakes. The monster had too much momentum going as it tried to turn, both heads seeming to want to be in front as it tripped over itself and slammed into someones hummer, crushing the thing like a soda can.

Putting the car in drive, Oz floored it as he made the vehicle lurch back onto the street we were just on and speed away into the darkness as the creature struggled to get itself untangled from the wrecked hummer. I was freaking out in a big way as Jake was whooping and telling the monster off through the rear window as Ozzy focused on driving. After we got away, I felt myself shaking as my Satyr friend banged a hand against the steering wheel.

"How the hell did it get that big?!" He asked no one in particular as he seemed to seethe about something. Jake was about to ask what, but before he could even get half of his question out, Oswald was talking again. "That was an Amphisbaena. When Medusa is killed they spawn from her blood when it touches the ground... the problem is they're no bigger than a miniature poodle, not the size of a friggin RHINO!"

We all sat in silence after that, trying to come down after that surge of adrenaline. I had trouble keeping myself from shaking for the better part of the next three hours as we covered as much distance as possible. When we reached a more populated suburb, Oswald pulled the car over and leaned his seat back, telling us to wake him in a few hours before handing us about sixty bucks to spend on something to eat or to get road trip supplies. I wanted to get out of that car anyway.

* * *

We had been trying to find ways to distract ourselves as we wandered around, but as we looked for something 'normal' to talk about or do, we realized just how far from normal things were becoming for us in only a few days. The best we could do was talk about music or reminisce about a few past moments in our lives. Eventually something sparked us to start singing a few songs that just seemed to fit.

I had summed up everything about high school with one song by Offspring called 'Feelings'. In retrospect, it fit the way I viewed Brittany, the stupid bitch that tried to make me her little social plaything or whatever you wanna call it. I just wished that she'd somehow die in a horrible fire or be horribly disfigured on the outside to match how much of a shrew she was inside. To say I hated her would be an understatement.

Needless to say, we managed to distract ourselves long enough to give Oswald his long overdue rest.


	3. Chapter 3: Better Than Camp Crystal Lake

Chapter Three: Better Than Camp Crystal Lake

Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.

Chapter Three: Better Than Camp Crystal Lake

* * *

"Mary! Wake up!" I was shaken from a rather pleasant sleep and by the time my eyes focused in the mid-day light, I was being told we had to move. I started to stretch and slowly pull myself from the car when I felt an arm helping me up.

"We there?" I yawned.

"No, we ran out of gas. The real problem is the Amphisbeana, it caught up to us!" Oz said hurriedly and I felt myself wake right up. I looked around but didn't see it, however I didn't get much of a chance to look after that as Oswald had us running down the road as fast as we could, Oswald had been carrying my bag and quickly handed it to me as we tried not to turn around at the sound of a loud metallic crunching noise.

I dared to peak and saw the monster ripping into the car and sniffing around. "Why is it ripping up the car? Can't it see us?"

"They have poor eye sight, just keep running!" Oswald responded, I hadn't even noticed he had removed his pants already as he was trotting along with us more than anything. However my observations of a running(or trotting, I don't care) Satyr were cut short by the sound of wings flapping. We felt a whoosh go over our heads and when I looked up I saw the chicken-snake was flying around.

"Holy crap, it can fly too?!" Jake got out before I could as Oswald swore in some language I somehow knew was Ancient Greek before rummaging through his bag. When he pulled out a set of pipes roped together I was about to ponder what the hell he was doing before he slowed down and motioned for us to do the same.

"When I tell you to, I want you two to get out of the way." He said as Jake and I prepared to jump to the side. I assumed it was some kind of bizarre blow gun with multiple tubes and as he put it to his lips, the monster was starting another fly by. "NOW!" We dove away as I swore I heard some kind of flute sounding version of a song I knew. When I looked up again I saw Oswald pulling Jake to his feet and they started running.

They yelled for me to do the same and I stupidly took a moment to look at the chicken-snake. It was thrashing and snapping its jaws at dozens of vines that were sprouting up through the black top, trying to wrap their way around the monster and pull it to the ground. I turned and started running again as they yelled for me to move my skinny ass. As I was running I heard that horrible roar like hiss again as it seemed to be freeing itself, needless to say I was pushing my legs to their limit as I ran harder than before.

I caught up to the boys as we got off the road, running up a hill but my pace really started to hit the drag shoot as I started making my way up toward some pine tree. It was then that the monster got me. I screamed as teeth started sinking into my back and sides, my feet pulling away from the ground as it started to lift me into the air. Jake and Oswald both cried out, but that's when the oddest thing happened. Like a bird hitting a freshly Windex'd window, the chicken-snake smacked into something and tumbled to the ground, releasing me from its jaws. I screamed again when I felt my arm breaking as I fell on it hard. I swore it was close to bending the wrong way when I landed.

"Mary!" Oswald came over and started getting me up as he pulled me across the hill. I looked up hoping to see some kind of dome but instead all I saw was the sky, part of the pine, and flashes of purple wrapped around the tree.

"Holy shit! What the fuck is that?!" Jake exclaimed backing away from the tree.

"Don't worry about it, it's friendly... to us at least." Oswald said as we all looked at the chicken-snake. The thing kept banging it's head and wings against some invisible wall and screeching at us. At least that's what it looked like to me, I was having trouble focusing through blurred vision. "The Amphisbeana can't get through the camps barrier, we're safe now."

"Oz... I feel fun-" I never got to finish my sentence, the world kind of went black when I passed out.

* * *

"I'm telling you, she'll be fine. Chiron and Will both looked at her." A voice said, it sounded like a girl.

"You can't blame me for worrying, I was tasked with protecting them on their way to camp and she almost got carried off like... Just take care of her Annabeth. I need to show Jake around camp, let me know if her condition changes." Oswald said before I heard clopping hooves on a wooden floor. That was the last thing I heard before blacking out again, I didn't even get my eyes open to see who this Annabeth person was.

* * *

"Whoa! Easy there, you shouldn't try to sit up too fast." Some blonde girl said as she rushed over beside me and helped ease me into a sitting position. "How are you feeling?" She asked while putting her hand on my forehead. I looked up at her and saw she had these cool intense grey eyes, a dorky orange shirt, and some hippy beaded necklace.

"Better. What happened to me?" I asked with a dry throat. She seemed to know what I wanted as she pulled a glass off a bedside table and helped me drink from it. As I drank, I swore it was the same taste as the hard lemonade my dad let me drink on the Fourth of July last year when I got all Bs on my report card and asked if I could try something alcoholic just once. I tried to choke back the memories of my Dad as I swallowed, strangely not feeling that warmth in my stomach that I got when I had tried his hard lemonade.

"The Amphisbeana used its jaws to grab you, then it pulled you off the ground. Needless to say, you got a good amount of its venom in your system. Luckily it isn't fatal, so we were able to get you healed up properly. Can you tell me your name?" The blonde asked as she refilled my cup for me, this time pouring me some water.

"Mary, My name is Mary Stanton." I coughed into my hand as tried to clear my throat. "Where are Ozzy and Jake?"

"Ozzy? Oh, you mean Oswald. He had some business to take care of and won't be back for a few days. Don't worry, they're both okay." I swore a look of sadness flashed over her face for an brief instant, but it was so brief I might have imagined it.

"How long have I been out?" I asked before taking a long drink of water. By the time I put the glass down, I noticed there hadn't been a response to me question. I looked at blondie and she had that kind of look you see when you know you're not gonna like the answer.

"You've been out for nearly three days."

"Three days? Are you shitting me?" I asked a bit perplexed that I could even sleep longer than a single day. This girl, who came to introduce herself as Annabeth, caught me up on events since we appeared with the Amphisbeana trying to carry me off like I was a mouse and it was an owl.

I also learned that I was given something called 'Nectar' in my awake yet completely out of it moments to help heal my wounds. I didn't even remember that, in fact I'd completely forgotten my arm had been broken in the fall since it felt perfectly normal now. As Annabeth informed me about the Camp, she helped me get up and around. As we made our way outside, I found they had set up some kind of infirmary inside the basement of this farmhouse or whatever it was.

"Holy shit, this place is huge." I said to myself after looking out at the camp. They had an arena, some kind of pavilion, some cabins... I think, it was hard to tell since they all looked different. There was too much to list in my mind, but someone drew me back to reality with what sounded like authority and parental scolding in their voice.

"I'll ask you to please refrain from cursing while you're here." I looked over as I heard some older gentleman talk to me and saw some scraggly dude in a wheel chair. "Mary Stanton, I presume?" I nodded and he smiled, "It's nice to see you up and around at last. Annabeth, can you set up the orientation video please, I'll watch after Miss Stanton."

Annabeth nodded and took off, leaving me with this old guy. "Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions. If you have a seat, I'm sure we can try and answer them."

"Actually aside from why the Amphisbeenie was so big, I'm pretty sure Ozzy and that Annabeth girl caught me up on most things. Did kind of have to road trip all the way from Florida to get here. Although I do suppose you could tell me about here, this Camp half-n-half."

He seemed to chuckle at my slip ups, but then again I couldn't get too angry at him for it. Almost getting eaten then being in a mini coma had taken a lot out of me. As I sat down, he started to explain a few things about the camp but went on to tell me the orientation video would explain some of what he might miss. That's when he went on to explain the rules of the camp, and boy oh boy did he seem to love going on about those.

I was more than eager to change the subject when he started asking about me. I mostly shrugged and gave him the low down on who I was, the kind of music I liked, the little bit of sleight of hand I got off my Dad from his old magician days, and so on. He seemed to find my magic tricks amusing for some reason, yet his smile seemed to hide something deeper to it. Of course I was still kind of out of it so I didn't notice it at the time.

When Annabeth returned, I was guided back inside to watch some video.

* * *

"How the hell can he fit into that thing? He looked like some old guy in a wheel chair." I said in disbelief. I had seen Chiron without his wheel chair disguise in the video and I had to admit he looked better, almost cool like that.

Annabeth just chuckled to herself as she guided me down into the camp, "Think of it like a magical box." From there she started showing me around, pointing out where and when we ate our meals. She gave me a quick glimpse into the arena where I saw teens of various ages going at it with practice swords while wearing armor. I got a good look at the climbing wall and prayed that I could avoid it forever. I saw a forge, archery field, a camp store, some stables, some forest a ways off, there was a lake, an amphitheater, volleyball courts... it looked like a theme'd summer camp more than anything. Surprisingly it was rather nice now that I looked at it up close.

"And here are the cabins." Annabeth said as we arrived at the different looking buildings I had seen earlier. She pointed to each of them and named off the God or Goddess associated to it. She seemed to hesitate on the ocean themed cabin, a distant look in her eyes like she was remembering something important. After she named all the cabins she pointed to the Athena Cabin with a smile on her face, "That's the cabin I'm in if you ever need to talk."

"What cabin do I belong to?" I asked and she pointed to the Hermes cabin.

"You're gonna be staying with the Hermes cabin until you're claimed. It usually only takes a few days at most once you get here, so you might wanna keep your stuff packed until you're claimed. By the way, your friend Jake was claimed the night he got here. He's the son of Hermes it turns out." She went on to explain that I should keep my eyes on the a pair of brothers named Connor and Travis Stoll. After hearing the horror stories, it made a lot of sense that Jake was a child of Hermes.

"So, what do I do now?" I asked, a bit lost in everything.

* * *

I wasn't sure what triggered it, but a sinking feeling had crept into my gut and I felt ill. Annabeth sat me down in some shady spot, rubbing my back as I put my head between my knees and tried to get control over myself again. Clenching my jaw, I tried to keep not only the lunch I'd just eaten down, but my sobs as well. When Annabeth mentioned being a Year-rounder, I guess it must have brought up memories of the night I had to leave my Dad to come to Camp.

"It's alright Mary, a lot of campers feel like this when they first get here." Annabeth said, yet it didn't sound like she was speaking from personal experience. "It'll take some time to get used to being here."

Lifting my head, I wiped my eyes before tears started to roll down my face. Clearing my throat, I steeled myself by cracking my neck, fingers, and toes. Annabeth visibly shuddered when I did that, but She kept trying to soothe me.

"I... I've been pushing everything back for that whole trip up, I cause I got a little over whelmed for a moment." I said trying to keep my voice steady. "It's just been one long shitty week for me, I guess I couldn't help but freak a little. Too much has changed too fast and it's still getting stranger everyday."

"Welcome to the Half-Blood club, we life in the twilight zone." Annabeth said with a smile, I couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the corny line. Taking another deep breath, I closed my eyes and let it out. When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar face going by in the distance. "At least you have a friend here already, that'll make things a little easier for you to deal with, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Annabeth! Chiron is looking for you, your ride is here!" A girl called as she jogged up to us. She had black hair tied back into a short pony tail that seemed to just barely go below the base of her neck. Annabeth panicked as she must have forgotten her prior engagement somehow. The dark haired girl looked at me and smiled, giving me a nod.

"Eleanor, can you finish showing Mary around? I haven't explained the schedules, meals, store, and-" the girl named Eleanor just held up her hand and stopped Annabeth.

"Go before you get in trouble," She smiled at Annabeth. Eleanor had this look in her eye, it was kind of hard to place but it reminded me of this one time I played poker back in Florida. She looked like she was reading for tells or trying to catch you in a lie, it was a little unnerving. After Annabeth took off, Eleanor turned her unnerving eyes to me. "You the same person that almost got carried off by the Amphisbeana?"

I affirmed it and she just nodded, "You've got some nice luck going for ya. Come on, let me show you what Annabeth wouldn't."

"What would that be?" I asked while standing up and following after her as she headed toward the store.

"Where to get your hands on contraband." She smirked back at me.

* * *

"_Sluggish drones assault my Radio_

_ 20 mortal lashes of Grotesque Audio_

_ Glittering fountains_

_ Misspent youth_

_ I'm a Rhinestone Tiger in a Leisure Suit!_"

Eleanor and I belted out lyrics from a Rob Zombie song, both of us kicking it off as we shared a six pack of coke in the empty amphitheater. I hadn't dreamed that I would have met another metal head in a place like this, but like I had said earlier, this place just gets stranger and stranger.

We both got a chance to hit up Mayhem Fest near our respective homes outside of camp, and we both agreed that certain bands should not have been second stage. When we weren't talking about music or singing lyrics from the show, she was telling me the rest of the stuff Annabeth never got a chance to finish telling me about.

"So wait, your mother is Nike? What was she the Goddess of?" I asked before sipping at my second coke.

"Victory!" Nike cheered, her voice echoing in the amphitheater as she raised he soda can to the sky. She let out a laugh as she brought her arm down.

"Can't go wrong when your mom is the goddess of winning."

"True, but you can imagine how much of a struggle there is to get the Nike cabin on your team for Capture the Flag. My brothers and sisters are very competitive and we don't like losing either."

"Wait, there's Capture the Flag games here?"

Eleanor nodded and started to laugh, "Oh, you have no idea! We play in armor, with weapons, and people can get hurt. It's actually kind of awesome."

I was flabbergasted to say the least. Capture the Flag with swords, and from what I've seen most of the campers are teenagers. This had to be a recipe for disaster. "When do these games usually take place?"

"Well given that most of our campers are away until summer and we're still trying to get the unclaimed demigods here, I think they're gonna put off holding another game until summer rolls around and everyone comes back."

"Damn it, I wanted to see this too."

"I wouldn't get that excited about it just yet. You might wanna learn how to handle a sword first. In fact, I know this Ares kid who can teach ya." she said, waggling her eye brows at me.

"Tell me you're not trying to hook me up with him." I groaned, Eleanor just laughed for a little while before shaking her head.

"More like, he's trying to hook up with me. He's pretty bad at trying to hide it, but he thinks I'm his soul mate because he's the son of Ares and I'm the daughter of Nike. It's like a match made in Olympus to him." We both had a laugh over that one. While it did make sense, it had a sappy romantic air about it. After we simmered down, she took a swig from her soda before continuing. "Seriously though, he's pretty good with a blade... or spear, axe, shotgun, and just about anything that could be used as a weapon. He can teach ya plenty of neat tricks."

"I suppose I could try. I mean, we have to know this stuff to fight monsters when we're not at camp anyway, right?" Eleanor nodded and I sighed. "I honestly wish this was a dream induced by a knock to the head from a mosh pit at Mayhem.

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't have met me!" Eleanor grinned at me while I scoffed. "Admit it, I'm awesome and you know it."


	4. Chapter 4: I Make A Friend

Chapter Four: I Make A "Friend"

Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.

Chapter Four: I Make A "Friend"

* * *

Dominic Konesky, Son of Ares, skilled with a blade, outstanding with a shotgun. Ever since he'd seen the Mossberg 500 in the armory, he had requested the Hephaestus kids to make him one that can be hidden away easily so he could carry it around when he was outside Camp. As I stood there watching him and some Hephaestus kid named Valerie work out the kinks, Eleanor just slid her hands into her jeans as we waited for them to finish.

"A shotgun that turns into a cellphone? How the hell does that even work?" I asked quietly.

"Actually it just looks like a cellphone, it doesn't work like one. He presses a button and presto! Shotgun. I think he got the idea from Percy and his sword."

"Percy?"

"The only Son of Poseidon at camp. Hero of Olympus and then some." Eleanor went on to talk about the the war that happened six months ago, giving me the clean version giving me a toned down version. She showed me her necklace, one that looked exactly like Annabeth's, and pointed out the beads. She had two beads herself, one looked like a maze and the other like the Empire State Building. The Empire State Building one was dedicated to the war and everyone they lost during it. She seemed saddened by the recollection of it all and slipped her necklace back on. "That's where Annabeth had to go in such a hurry, she was made the Architect of Olympus for her efforts."

"Eleanor!" We both looked up as Dominic seemed to notice us. He looked halfway between nervous and happy as he stared at Eleanor. She waved at him as Valerie collected up everything in a basket and took off while whistling to herself. As we approached him, Dominic seemed to turn stone faced every time he looked at me, giving me the once over as if to appraise my worth or judge me. I hated when people did that.

"Dom, this is Mary. She was one of the two that arrived a few days ago. I'm showing her around and figured that since the regular training for sword play won't start up till summer that you could give her some personal lessons." Eleanor said as she presented me to him.

"Sure, I can do that for you." He said with a smile to her.

"Just go easy on her at first, okay? She doesn't need to go back to the infirmary so soon."

"I'll take it easy on her, don't worry." He said, almost completely ignoring me now. Eleanor bid me a farewell and excused herself as she had had some business back at her cabin to handle. Once she was out of sight, he dropped his smile as he glared at me. "So, you're the dumb ass that almost got eaten by that monster."

"I'm sensing some hostility there." I mouthed off in response. He grunted at me as he walked over to the rack and snatched up practice armor and a practice sword, tossing them on the ground in front of me.

"Put that on, I have time to show you some basic shit for now, but you're gonna have to practice it on the dummies more than you're gonna be sparring with me. So lets get you your routines and you can start working on the dummies." He got out before grabbing his practice sword.

I squirmed into the armor and tightened it down, after I figured out how it worked, before picking up the sword. "Why do I need to wear armor if I'm gonna be practicing on dummies?"

"I'm gonna be showing you what you're doing by using you as an example. Then I'm gonna show you on the dummy. Then you're gonna practice in the armor so you're used to it. You learn to fight in the armor since you're usually gonna be wearing it when you're sparring or playing Capture the Flag anyway."

"Oh... That makes sense." I approached him, but the minute I got close enough, he shifted forward like a car picking up speed and swung at me. I shrieked in surprise as he practically knocked me over with the first swing which caught me by surprise. He didn't stop however and kept hitting at me. When he finally stopped, I whirled around to face him and he was already walking toward a dummy.

"Gods you're noisy." He complained.

"Fuck you too! Christ! You could have warned me you were about to beat me to death!" I spat out at him. He grumbled something under his breath before he got to the dummy, but ultimately it looked like he was biting his tongue and he didn't strike me as the kind of guy to hold back what he had to say.

"Come on princess," He was lucky I didn't have a real sword, I'd stab the crap out of him if I did. "Watch closely, cause once you see this, you're gonna practice it for the next hour."

"Hour?!"

He didn't wait to hear what I said after that as he started with a swing like the first one he used on me. Then he went on to smack it a series of times more. Some small, tightly controlled swings while others were wide and strong. I know I wasn't gonna be able to last an hour doing all of those.

"Now then, your turn, I need to finish cleaning the arena." He left me standing there as he went back to work. I looked at the dummy, then at the practice sword in my hand, then back to the dummy.

I grumbled before attempting to do what he showed me. Normally I'd try and talk or try to ask for help or something in a situation like this, but he seemed legitimately busy with his work and I wasn't gonna waste my time or his on step by step instructions. After a while I had trouble lifting my arm and fell on my ass panting as sweat drenched my clothes.

"It hasn't been an hour." Dominic called out as he put a couple of spears away and dusted his hands off.

"I can't lift my arm any more." I huffed out as I could hear Dominic moving about, open something, and then close it just as quickly. It wasn't until he was standing over me that I actually looked at him. I reached up and took the bottle of water he had been offering me, the thing must have been sitting in a cooler or something because it was ice cold.

"Drink up, you're gonna need to rehydrate after sweating so much." Dominic stated like I didn't already know.

"I thought something was supposed to change when I knew I was a half-blood. I don't feel any different." I remarked before chugging half the bottle.

"You've always been different. For starters, if you're anything like the rest of us, you've been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. I'm right, aren't I?" He asked, looking rather smug with himself.

"Yeah, but how did you even kn-" His chuckling cut me off as he started talking again.

"It's an innate trait among half-bloods. Our bodies are meant to understand Ancient Greek, hence the dyslexia. The ADHD is due to our natural battle reflexes."

I scoffed at that last part, "Didn't do me any good when you were wailing on me."

"You may not have noticed it because you were too busy shrieking like an infant, but you were trying to dodge after that first swing of mine. You just suck compared to me, I've got more combat experience than you'll probably ever have."

"Well someone sounds sure of himself." Dominic and I both looked over as Eleanor came over to us. I watched Dominic stand up straight and try to clear his throat quietly. Needless to say, Dominic became much more agreeable with the return of his crush. If anything, Eleanor had a point about Dominic. He sucked at hiding his feelings for her.

* * *

After a shower and change of clothes, which unfortunately including a stupid orange t-shirt like everyone else was wearing, I was winding my day down to a close as dinner was getting ready to be served. As we filed into the dining pavilion, I was a little upset that I wouldn't be able to sit with Eleanor and keep talking to her. The upside was that I was at least sitting with Jake at the Hermes table since I hadn't been claimed yet.

As we all sat around waiting, Chiron clinked a goblet and had everyone bid a welcome to the new comer who'd just made a complete recovery. I am of course referring to myself, and the applause that followed was really not needed if you asked me.

"Jake, stop whistling in my ear!" I hissed at my friend as he just grinned at me. After that, well it was hard to figure out at first. Food appearing, goblets with on demand beverages, tossing perfectly good food into a fire, I just didn't get it. I had been told it was to honor the gods, still a waste of perfectly good food if you ask me.

Dinner was full of conversation, then before long we were all shuffling off to sit around a camp fire. As we sat there basking in the fire's glow, I kept getting the feeling someone was watching me, but every time I looked around there was nothing. Then I realized it wasn't someone in the darkness, it was the other campers.

They were casting darting glances or keeping their eyes on me as if I was supposed to be exploding into a shower of confetti or something. It was unnerving after a while but even Chiron seemed to be doing it. When the night was coming to an end, the wheel chair bound centaur seemed almost perplexed that I didn't do something.

After filing back to our cabins, everyone got settled for the night. I suppose it was too much to ask for a peaceful nights rest.

* * *

The room was dimly lit, yet with what little light that was present I saw a tall man with a somewhat hawkish face. That same woman on her throne called out softly from the darkness, every word sending a small wave of a panic through my mind. "I trust you'll be able to handle him this time, especially now that he doesn't have his friends or those pesky Hunters helping him."

The man raised his head as he smiled, something was off about his face at first but then I realized it was his eyes, one was brown, the other looked blue. As he started speaking, a french accent rang clear, especially when he mangled his Js. "We'll kill the nuisance soon enough, just watch. I'll be there to finish him personally."

"Did I not make myself clear when I had you brought back? You're not to kill him yet, you're to keep him busy. I want him preoccupied so he can't interfere." The woman's soft voice stated with a hint of annoyance as she shifted in her chair, more like a throne really. All I could tell about the woman still was that her voice was extremely unnerving, it reminded me of a time when I had a panic attack.

"What if the other demigods attempt to contact him? Surely his peril will be made known and they will attempt to assist him." The hawkish man put forth. A deep, hearty chuckle filled my mind as a man slipped into the dim light of the room as if he just appeared from the shadows. He was wearing a black suit with an overcoat and carried a cane with a polished silver handle. It struck me as a bit too dapper.

"Thanks to the constant assaults, we've been able to keep him isolated and distracted. He's all alone and that's where I want him. So long as he is isolated from everything and everyone, I can prevent anyone from reaching out to him. It should be enough to buy my dear sister time to discover a means of weakening him."

The woman made a noise of displeasure as she shifted in her seat. I still couldn't see her face no matter how hard I tried to focus on it. "Yes, the boy is almost untouchable unless we know his weak spot. The Curse of Achilles is quite troublesome in times like these."

"What?! The boy bathed in the Styx?" Hawkish man hissed in what sounded like rage. The hiss was something no human could make, it almost scared me as much as the other two people in the room.

"Of course he has! Why else do you think your precious pets have done little more than scratch him despite all the fighting he's been through?" The man from the shadows asked as he pulled a handkerchief out and started to polish the silver handle of his cane. He stopped as he turned, almost like he was looking at me.

"What's wrong, Monaxia?" Hawkish man asked as he looked where he was staring. They both seemed to be looking right at me, it was a bit creepy.

"Well, well, I didn't expect someone to try and spy on us. Very clever, whoever you are." The man named Monaxia swung his cane at me and I woke up screaming in a cold sweat. The rest of Hermes Cabin quickly awoke with a start, a haze of confusion sweeping over everyone before they all looked at me.

I was curled in a ball on my bed as I tried to stop shaking. Feelings of loneliness and fear swept through me as Jake tried to calm me down. Something about the dream struck me as all too real.


	5. Chapter 5: I Have A Nightmare

Chapter Five: I Have A Nightmare

Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.

Chapter Five: I Have A Nightmare

* * *

It had been a while since Jake and I had first come to camp. With the campers coming back and everything, schedules were set up, things were prepped, and everyone had become more active. When I had some free time, I was either practicing with Dominic or goofing off with Eleanor and Jake. Occasionally I'd hang with Annabeth but she'd come and go to Olympus so much it was hard to really get to know her sometimes.

There was one thing that I had learned about since coming to camp, and that was that Mr. D was a bit of a dick. He'd been on Olympus when I first arrived, having gone to some kind of meeting or something. When I met him, he never got my name right and always had this hungover look to him. Still, I made a note not to piss off the grumpy God of partying and madness, that'd be like trying to challenge Great Cthulhu to a staring contest.

But luckily most of my time was spent doing other things away from him. Lately with the schedules in full swing, I was spending more time doing some stuff in the forges. A Hephaestus cabin member, Hudson Bernard, was showing me the ropes when it came to crafting a sword. He was that definition of tall, dark, handsome, and any other adjectives you could think off. While I was never the kind of girl to get all bashful and giggly around guys I fancied, people have teased me about wanting to spend time with him alone. I mostly liked spending time with him because we shared a few similar tastes.

As I practically swallowed a whole bottle of water in one go thanks to how much sweating I'd been doing, Hudson kept banging away at some red hot metal. Going over, I sat down on an upside crate while I huffed out a sigh. "I don't see how you guys can stand spending so much time in here, it's so damn hot."

Hudson just shrugged with a laugh before he dunked his sword to be into a trough of water, making it sizzle. "Chalk it up to Dad, we tend to tune it out after a long while. Still, does wonders for shedding those extra pounds." He grinned before pulling his blade out, examining it.

With a little bit of help, Hudson helped me finish banging out the last bit of my blade before we finally got out of that boiling heat. I couldn't help but shudder from the difference in temperature, Hudson and me parting ways to get showered and changed so we didn't stink to high heaven. When business had been taken care off, I had a decent chunk of time left before dinner so I went off to find a quiet spot in the shade.

I sipped on a Mountain Dew after getting settled, having had to convince this guy in Hermes cabin to get them for me special since everyone and their brother was mostly trying to get their hands on Coke. I closed my eyes as I leaned against the trunk of a sycamore, letting myself shoulders slacken as what little stress I had lingering in me faded.

There was no telling how much time had really passed. It had been so relaxing I didn't even notice someone standing over me at first, at least not until they spoke to me. "You look like you're adapting well." I cracked open one of my eyes and was greeted by a familiar face and shaggy legs.

"Ozzy! When did you get back? They said you'd be gone a few days, it's been months!" I practically jumped to my feet as we shared a hug. When we separated, Oswald had that look on his face like 'What can you do?' as he shrugged.

"Me and a few other Satyrs were out looking for someone... haven't been able to find them yet. I'm back at Chiron's request to help around camp for the summer, they're sending out someone else to take my place and pick up the trail. Frankly a new perspective might be what they need to find Percy." He shook his head with displeasure at the way things had turned out.

"Percy? As in Percy Jackson? He's missing?"

Oz nodded, "Yeah, apparently he's been missing for a few months now. Nobody has been able to reach him, even through Iris Messaging."

I was about to have a brain fart but I caught myself, remembering the time I had talked to Annabeth while she was at Olympus through some rainbow thing or something. It was like video conferencing in a way. "That... that sucks. I guess just keep searching."

"Yeah, it's about all we can do for now... Still, to change the subject, how are you adjusting?" Oz seemed to perk up a bit as he shifted topics, getting us back to cheery moods.

"Okay, I guess. It was tough at first, especially with the training and stuff. A few new friends have helped me adjust though and having Jake around was a plus... even if he has become more mischievous if you can believe it."

"That's terrifying actually." He laughed as I caught him up on my experiences at camp. The idea of being a year-rounder wasn't as dreadful to me now, but still I would go down fighting in an attempt to get whoever was in charge to let me go home to my Dad. Still, it was nice to talk to Ozzy again while I had the chance, things seemed to always been happening around this place.

We started walking back towards the dining pavilion for dinner, I had looped my arm through his as we moved. "Get this, I've not only lost that little bit of belly fat I had, but I've been getting good with a sword. Been practicing with this guy from Ares cabin named Dominic. He was prick at first but once we got into talking about stuff he actually warmed up to me."

"Really? Geez, you're making all sorts of friends around here, ain't ya?" Oswald said with a hint of surprise in his voice, but it really showed on his face too.

"Eh, I've made a few. Dom, Annabeth, Eleanor, Hudson, and... that's really about it if you don't count you and Jake. Not much, but they're good people and that's what matters I suppose." I shrugged as he nodded, knowing I was not really a socialite, but this was better than being a mopey wallflower.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask! Who claimed you, I wasn't here when it happened." Oz looked at me with excited curiosity but the frown on my face told him more than any words I could say.

"Still haven't been claimed. I don't know why since others have come to camp after Jake and me. They got claimed the day they showed up! I don't get what's doing on with my 'parent', but I wish they'd double check their list of kids for my name already."

"That doesn't make sense, Jake was claimed almost the minute there was group of people to witness it." Ozzy seemed go inside him as he tried flipping through his brain in search of an answer. As we were passing into the pavilion, we heard silence for a minute. Looking up we saw a very flustered Annabeth staring at Chiron who was out of his chair and looked like he'd practically just finished an archery lesson for some campers.

Everyone seemed dead quiet and as Ozzy stepped onto the marble floor, the clopping of his hooves made all eyes turn to us. I raised an eyebrow as I stared at everyone before looking back to Annabeth. Something was obviously wrong, she looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears at any time. She started making her way out of the dining pavilion with haste and as she vanished from sight, Chiron waved his arms and stated for us to enjoy our meals and listen to their counselors before going after her.

Ozzy and I exchanged confused looks but Jake let us in on what had gone down as we joined the Hermes table. It would seem that Percy and Annabeth had a thing going on, if you catch my drift, and his disappearance had her in a mild state of distress which was starting to boil over like it had right before I came into the pavilion.

"Apparently she's asking to leave the camp to look for him, but they don't wanna let campers leave without good reason."

"Finding someone who's been missing for months isn't a good reason?" I put out, Jake just gave me a nod as I had made a good point.

"That may be, but their reasoning is why put more people at risk unnecessarily. Besides there's a group of Satyrs looking for him already, right?" Jake countered and I had to nod to that.

"Yes but more people means more covering more ground. It also improves the already slim odds of finding him."

"Only by a like a small margin, the Satyrs are scouring the entire U.S. How are a handful of campers gonna improve those odds by much?"

I shook my head at Jake, "You're such a pessimist, you know that?"

"No, I'm an optimist. Remember?" Jake corrected lamely with a wry smile.

"You're both depressing." Oswald tossed out as we looked at him. He sighed before picking up a carrot and munching on it, "And if you want some real talk, the only real way Annabeth is gonna get outside camp at this point is to take a quest, but she can't thanks to her new 'day job'. Now if you'd both kindly shut your gobs and try to change the subject, we might be able to enjoy our dinners more fully."

Jake and I shut right up and started munching on the food we hadn't thrown into the brazer to honor the Gods. I was to busy thinking on what the hell a quest was and Jake seemed to be too busy trying to start a food fight with Ares Cabin by lobbing grapes at them.

Chiron returned near the end of dinner with an almost zombie like Annabeth. I recognized the state she was in, I'd seen it once in high school when a friend of mine lost her boyfriend in a car accident. I wanted to stand up and go say something but I didn't know what. Certainly nothing that would make her feel better.

Annabeth seemed to realize where she was and rubbed her eyes while straightening her back. If anything I'd never seen someone compose themselves so well. I would dare to say that if she hadn't looked so pained a moment ago it would almost have seemed like nothing was wrong. She quietly returned to her table, most people casting a glance at her before going back to their food.

"I kind of know how she feels." I said to myself as she looked like I did back when I first came to camp and had my breakdown. Jake and Oz just stared at me for a moment before we all ate in a eerie silence.

* * *

When I fell asleep I felt myself drifting into that surreal dream like state again. Things shifted from what felt like a gray haze to a dark room, lit only by a torch of all things. Chained to the wall was a boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen at best. His black hair was natty and muddy, his clothes looked like hell and he was starting to get that teenage stubble, a thin speckling of black along his jawline, chin, and upper lip. Would have been rather rugged, maybe even handsome, if he wasn't dirty and torn up.

"Well, well, Percy Jackson. Nice to see you finally decided to enjoy our hospitality." The man in the suit, Mon-something, swaggered in playfully as his cane made a tapping sound across the stone floor as he stepped into the light. "I must say, I was almost beginning to wonder if you'd ever collapse from exhaustion after the seemingly endless herding we've had to do to keep you away from that bothersome camp."

Percy looked up at him with these bright green eyes, they seemed to burn with defiance as he glared at the other man. "Either someone will come or I'll get loose. You can't keep me locked up here forever."

Monny laughed as if Percy had genuinely told a joke, "I don't plan to keep you here forever. I just need you here while pieces fall into place. Then we'll let you go... That's of course assuming Thorn doesn't have a say in the matter."

"Thorn?" Percy seemed confused for a moment before he shifted his weight, three large spike looking things planting themselves into the wall as the hawkish faced man emerged from the shadows. Percy's eyes flashed with recognition as he looked at the man who appeared.

Thorn merely growled at Percy before Monny raised his cane as if it was a signal for the hawkish man to back off. Sure enough Thorn shot the dabber man a glare before receding into the shadows. "We had tasked him with capturing you, now that we have you, he gets to play jailer. Not a task he's looking forward to since he doesn't get to punish you unless you actually try to escape."

A shoddy looking figured stepped into the light now, her movements silent and soft albeit very feeble in nature. Her thin hair was wiry and fell about her face in a very wild manner, she looked a little crazy. "Are we ready to begin?"

"Oh! Of course, how could I have forgotten. Please dear sister, relieve this demigod of his burden. After all, no hero should have to bear the burden of being invincible. It ruins their chance at a tragically heroic death." Monny smiled as the woman stepped forward, some kind of urn in her hands. Percy looked at the urn, then back to Monny.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your little bath in the Styx, my dear sister has been tasked with finding a way to remove the effects of such an act. Mind you, she is also looking for the most painful method as well... Needless to say she's eager to find it. I have other things to tend to so if you'll excuse me." Monny left the room as the woman smiled a grin full of rotted and crooked teeth.

As she began pouring the contents on Percy, the screaming began. It was painfully and seemed to echo through my mind, the next thing I knew I was waking up and screaming for them to stop. Hermes cabin members were surrounding my bunk with a mixed display of worry and confusion, then there was a handful that looked half asleep still.

Everyone got back to their bunks to try and squeeze out a little more sleep, but I just stayed awake since we'd all be up in less than an hour anyway. I tried to find a way to make sense of what I saw but nothing came to me. Was I really having a dream about this Percy kid?

"What the fuck is wrong with my brain? Now I'm dreaming of torturing a kid I don't even know." I sighed softly to myself as I ran my hand through my hair. It had gotten a little more length to it since I came to camp, but it wasn't as long as it used to be. Deciding to figure things out later, I waited for breakfast to come around.

After the cabins woke up, cleaned up, and assembled, the lot of us marched up to the dining pavilion for breakfast. I glanced over at Athena Cabin's group and saw Annabeth looked steely eyed and straight faced like she had after composing herself last night, but something about her mannerisms betrayed what she was trying to hide.

I almost wanted to tell her about my dream, but what would be the point? It'd just scare her or make her worry. After all, it was just a dream, more a nightmare really judging by the way I woke up screaming.

As we ate breakfast, everyone carried on and the like as if last nights outburst between Annabeth and Chiron never happened. I finished off my eggs by scooping them onto my toast with a piece of bacon and munching it down. Jake pointed a fork at me as he finished swallowing a piece of egg, "So what had you so spooked this morning? That's the second or third time you woke up screaming from some nightmare."

I chewed slower as I tried to buy time, trying to recall the nightmares that had woken me up in such a manner. "It was two," I managed after I swallowed my food, "The first back when we first came to camp and then last nights little horror show. I swear, it's like I was there more than just dreaming."

"So what was the dream?"

"Dreams, both of them were different but they seemed to follow the same guy. The first one was some dapper looking guy in a suit with a cane at a shady meeting about keeping someone preoccupied or something... It's been a while so I don't quite remember the details on that one. But last night I dreamed about him meeting this kid in a dungeon. I swear, I must have heard too many of these Percy Jackson stories around camp cause I dreamed he was there in the dungeon, chained to a wall."

As I reiterated what went on through my dream, there was clattering and even a spit take around us as people from Hermes Cabin just stared at me. Travis Stoll practically dragged me up towards Chiron while Connor seemed to rush off somewhere. As I was set down on the bench across from Chiron and Mr. D, Connor was bringing Annabeth up along side the table.

"As I recall, you trouble makers should have your own tables to sit at." Mr. D stated obviously as he sipped at a Diet Coke which seemed a bit odd considering it was breakfast time. Then again I've been known to have a soda with breakfast now and again, but that was at restaurants in the morning.

"Repeat what you said at the table, tell them about your dreams." Travis urged as I licked my lips, feeling them go dry for some reason. I proceeded to retell what I had dreamed about, Chiron and Annabeth both seemed to go through a series of emotions as they constantly exchanged looks.

"But it's a dream, right? I've never even seen Percy, so my mind must have just thrown together something for him." I tried to justify why I dreamed about Annabeth's boyfriend, not bothering to touch on the torturing him subject as that would be a little upsetting for everyone after the first time I brought it up.

"Demigods can have visions in the form of dreams," Chiron started, his final emotion being a frown as he was rather displeased with the way that things were turning out, more so than me at the moment it would seem. "If what you've said is to be perceived as such, then Percy is in real danger."

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but Chiron held up his hand, "Annabeth, I know you want to search for Percy but you have a duty that needs to be performed. I will allow a quest to search for Percy, but you cannot go. Mrs. Dare?" Everyone turned and looked at some red head who had been sitting there the whole time, munching on a bowl of Cheerios. "If you have a moment."

'Mrs. Dare' was probably no older than me or Annabeth, her full name being Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I always called her Red, mostly because of her hair but also because of her initials. As we waited for her to finish her latest spoonful of cereal, the rest of the pavilion went quiet. Taking a swig of what I assumed was orange juice, Rachel took a deep breath before she seemed to go limp despite sitting up straight. When her eyes opened again they were glowing as emerald smoke issued from her mouth, I had talked to her a few times before that morning, but the voice I heard then was raspy. It reminded me of some elderly ladies back in Florida that used to be heavy smokers, as we sat there this is what it said:

_"A child of Hecate shall answer the call,_

_They'll find the lost Stone at the center of all,_

_The lost hero shall rally, hearing their plea,_

_The first wife will rise, a herald to flee."_

After she finished, Rachel started to collapse into her bowl but Connor caught her before it happened. I hadn't even seen him move to help her. Chiron turned and opened his mouth as if to talk to the members of Hecate Cabin when a bloom of light filled the pavilion. I searched for the source but all I saw was people looking toward us. Annabeth tapped my shoulder and had me look up and sure enough, there was the source of the light.

Floating above my head as a brick red pair of torches crossed in an X fashion behind a silver key. Before I could ask what was happening, Chiron and the rest of the assembled campers were bowing their heads as the centaur announced loudly, "Hail, Mary Stanton. Daughter of Hecate, Goddess of Magic."


	6. Chapter 6: Bon Voyage

Chapter Six: Bon Voyage

Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.

Chapter Six: Bon Voyage

* * *

"Whoa, hold the phone. Back up to the part where I'm the one taking the quest." I interrupted as Chiron sighed, he'd pulled me aside after the strange ass events during breakfast. Somehow the big glowing thing above my head had made me the person taking the quest for some reason.

"Hecate claiming you, right when a quest is issued that would be given to a child of Hecate, it was a sign that this was to be your quest."

"There's a whole cabin of experienced campers you could pick for this, I've barely gotten the hang of using a sword!" I pointed out as Chiron just sighed.

"You were chosen for this quest and I don't think you want to refuse the Gods when they make such a statement." I opened my mouth to protest but then shut it as I could only imagine what might happen if I did refuse. Even then, my mother was Hecate, the Goddess of Magic. I got an answer to who was my Mom, yet now I had more questions.

"I'm not ready for this." I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Percy wasn't ready for his first quest yet he managed to pull it off."

I threw my hands in the air as I swore, "God damn it! Why does everyone keep going on about this kid? Even then why am I being put on the pedestal in comparison to him? Look, I'm just saying that there's a better chance of this quest succeeding if someone more seasoned went instead of me. Why not just let Annabeth go, she wants to find him most of all anyway, right?"

"Annabeth is on call, she could be summoned to Olympus at a moments notice. As much as Chiron wants to let her go, she's got something preventing her from going." Eleanor joined our conversation as she came up beside me. "Don't worry Mary, you'll do fine. Even then, you can take two people with you and I have the perfect recommendation for one. Of course, that's assuming it's okay?"

Chiron nodded, "I don't see why not, but the choice is ultimately up to Mary."

"You should take Dominic. He's got the experience you'd want on a quest like this."

I sighed as it seemed I was gonna be stuck taking the stupid quest. "Okay, so Dominic is one. Can you ask him? He'll listen to you." Eleanor nodded with a smile as I ran my hands through my hair, "Geez, this is gonna suck so much."

* * *

After I got my things moved to the Hecate Cabin, my new cabin mates gave me a warm greeting. They were about to tell me about what to look out for in the cabin when the counselor, Lou Ellen, butted in and said I needed to pack for the quest. I thought I was gonna be left alone, but everyone started giving me pointers, lists of what I should and should not take, and so on.

It was so odd how quickly they warmed up to me being their half-sister or whatever the hell I was supposed to be. A few of them helped me stow my stuff away while packing at the same time, shoving some clothes in my pack along with a few other things I'd gotten from camp. My new cabin mates offered me a series of things to take with me, I tried to turn down most of it but a few of them snuck the stuff in when I wasn't looking. But I wouldn't find that out till later.

"Here, I know it's not much but it's better than nothing." Lou Ellen said while handing me a fanny pack. I was about to resist the offer when she unzipped it and showed me a plethora of vials and the like. "It's a bunch of potions and other useful things, the kind of stuff you'll learn to make when you get back. I figure it might bring you luck. Here let me show you what's what."

Sure enough I found myself intrigued enough to accept the gift but I had to promise to bring the fanny pack back to her. Another look through it showed the same vials as before but I still had trouble accepting that I was handed something that was full of what were essentially magic potions and a few of them contained something called Greek Fire. I was told to be careful when using it and to save it for dangerous situations.

After I had packed, they guided me up to the Big House and took turns saying good luck or giving me a hug. Overwhelmed didn't even begin to describe how I felt then. After all was said and done, I watched them all wave as they went their separate ways. For a moment I almost felt happy to know I had more to my family than my Dad, but I was sad because after just learning about them I was about to go away on some stupid quest.

Regaining my senses, a quick glance at a wrist watch one of them gave me showed it was almost noon now. Shaking my head at how I'd been with them for a few hours, I went back to focusing on the task at hand. Catching sight of Chiron on the patio, I saw him with a few of the others; Annabeth, Eleanor, Dominic, Mr. D, and Hudson. Adjusting my pack, I made my way up the steps. Dominic saw me coming and grabbed a pack which he slung over his shoulder, "About time, I was wondering what was taking so long."

"Mary, Hudson's agreed to be your third." Eleanor said, motioning towards the towering teen that was standing beside her. Hudson nodded as he adjusted his pack, although I could have swore he was trying to hide his face under the brim of his ball cap, almost like he was hiding a blush when he started talking, "Chiron's given us some essentials, so unless you have something else to grab then we should get inside and figure out a game plan."

With a nod, the lot of us headed inside where we sat around a ping pong table. As everyone but Chiron took a seat, I looked around and waited to see what exactly we'd be doing for this so called 'game' plan. Chiron rolled out a map of the United States which didn't seem to make me feel any better.

"While our goal is ultimately to find Percy, I'm certain our best bet is to follow the Prophecy." The old centaur stated as he motioned towards the center of the country, "The lost Stone at the center of all, must refer to someplace in the Central United States."

"That's a lot of ground to cover." I pointed out, earning me a few looks of 'no shit Captain Obvious'. I shut my mouth in an effort not to have my foot find it's way into it.

"Chiron, you can't honestly expect them to scour the entirety of the Central U.S., can you?" Eleanor asked as Chiron simply shook his head with a smile.

"No, but we can help narrow down our search radius. If anything, their best bet is to start here." Chiron pointed to Kansas as we all kind of just stared at the map before looking at him with obvious confusion across our faces. "Well it looks to be the center of the United States from a maps point of view, besides a literal interpretation is better than than nothing. Even then, I know of an old camper that lives there, he can probably lend you some help on this quest."

I had to nod a little as it made some sense in that 'what the hell else can we do' line of thinking. Dominic looked over the map like he was trying to memorize the route while Hudson asked if they had a copy of some maps. Me? I was sitting there, not sure what the hell else I was supposed to do. Chiron also handed Dominic a sealed letter for the camper who would find us when we arrived in Kansas.

"Just a quick question, what exactly is this lost stone we're looking for anyway?" I asked and everyone got quiet as they looked at me. I felt like I'd asked another stupid question until everyone looked to one another just as confused as me. Annabeth and Chiron looked to one another, their facial expressions shifting about as if they were holding some silent conversation. After a moment Chiron frowned and just nodded as Annabeth cleared her throat and everyone looked to her as she stood up.

"I'm venturing a guess, but the center of all is often called the navel of the world which could mean you're looking for the Omphalos Stone." The daughter of Athena stated, making a few people look just as confused as I felt.

"It was the stone that was fed to Kronos in Zeus' place, allowing the God to grow and in time defeat the Titan." Chiron summarized the story for us, but he was telling me more than anything given how he was looking to me as he said it. He went on to state that in Ancient times, Delphi was deemed the center of the world by Zeus after he sent two eagles around the world and where they met it was considered to be the navel of the world.

We all made noises of understanding as we finally got the big picture. Chiron seemed to consider this for a moment as he looked back down at the maps. His eyes seemed to widen a little as his eyebrows arched up, like an epiphany had come to him. "Annabeth, get me a map of Colorado."

Annabeth wanted to question why but she didn't, instead grabbing the map and laying it out on the table. Chiron looked it over as Annabeth tried to find what he was looking for as well. Chiron's hand moved out over the table, a single finger pressing against the map as he pointed to something called the Mosquito Mountains. "I would suspect here to be a better choice of destination."

Confused must have been slipping and sliding around my head at this point because it kept coming and going. Even other others were asking why there when Chiron related that Delphi was once positioned on the southern slope of some mountain called Parnassus. He also pointed out that Kansas had relatively little in terms of mountains and would merely be a pit stop for us now. Where as Colorado was covered in a great deal of mountains and was conveniently next door to Kansas. So like that, we made Colorado our destination in the hopes of narrowing the search for this Oompa Loompa Stone, or more importantly, Percy Jackson.

After that, Hudson took a map of Colorado and we planned a route(mostly by train it seemed), we began to gather our things. Chiron seemed to be frowning at the map and excused himself, something was gnawing on him, I could see it. Annabeth seemed to be concerned herself, but I assumed it was more about Percy than the quest itself.

"Alright, lets get going." Dominic grabbed his bag as he started toward the door. Hudson and I quickly grabbed our stuff and followed him. As I slung my pack over my shoulder and started fastening it around my body, I realized we didn't have a destination other than Kansas then on toward Colorado.

"What are we even gonna be looking for in Colorado?" I asked, still a little lost.

"Not sure, but it's better than nothing and that's a start. Besides, the address for that half blood Chiron mentioned is on the envelope so we should worry about getting to him first and seeing what help he can provide. We'll figure everything else out on the drive to New York." Dom said as both him and Hudson started down the patio steps and began moving toward the tree that marked the border of Camp. I quickly chased after them as I looked at Annabeth one last time.

"Bring him back in one piece!" She shouted after us, I could only nod to her as I wasn't even sure if we'd find him.

* * *

We all sat in the back of a van as Argus drove us into New York City. Dominic was doing a last minute check of his belongings while sitting in the seat behind the one Hudson and I were in. As Dom busied himself, Hudson pulled out a few of maps and laid them on the chair between the two of us, having brought a map of Colorado state from Chiron along with one of Kansas and the U.S. itself.

"Once we get dropped off in New York, we'll need to grab a train and work our way from there. Going by train will be the fastest and safest way to travel." Hudson announced as Dom just grunted an affirmation before pumping a Celestial Bronze slug into the chamber of his shotgun.

"Wouldn't a plane be faster and safer?" I asked, wondering if it had just slipped his mind.

"Normally I'd say yes, but with all the electronics and stuff that people use on planes, I think it's becoming more and more an emergency only kind of thing. Trains are a little better off for us since we won't broadcast our location so 'loudly'. Besides, I have a thing about heights." Hudson said before looking over the maps while telling me about electronics and Demigods which made everything make a little more sense to me. He seemed to go quiet after that as he tried to look for the best way to get to Colorado from Kansas. Dominic on the other hand was stowing his gear and looked ready to go.

"Hey Dom, what's with the get up?" I asked, motioning towards his attire. He was decked out in fatigues, but that's not what was making me curious. It was this harness thing he was wearing that had me confused. It was covered in pouches, holsters, and some other things. Looking at himself, Dom took stock of what I was talking about before looking back up at me with a smirk.

"This? Made it myself. Originally it was for hiking but when I got brought to camp it made a few changes for a good combat harness. I can hold practically all my essentials in this thing, meaning I can ditch my pack in a pinch if need be yet still have the means to survive in the wild for a few days." Dominic proudly admitted, so much so that I swore he was puffing his chest up from pride alone. In fact it was quite odd how talkative he was being about it since he usually kept his part in conversations short and sweet(bitter sweet sometimes if you ask me).

"That seems a bit excessive, then again I kind of want one too." I admitted, sadly I inflated his ego a little there as he went on to show me the kinds of things one could carry with them. Needless to say, the car ride to the train station wasn't quiet or boring. Added bonus, Dom said he could make us each one when we got back from camp, or should I say _if_ we got back to camp.


	7. Chapter 7: Strangers On A Train Platform

Chapter Seven: Strangers On A Train Platform

Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.

Chapter Seven: Strangers On A Train Platform

* * *

There was something about trains and my ADHD that said 'oh! look at that!' at every thing thing that passed by. As we all sat in the dining car eating lunch, went over the plan again to make sure it was clear in our heads. I wasn't too pleased with the fact that we were heading to Chicago before heading down to Kansas City, Dom said it was part of the plan when I asked a bunch of questions.

"This is the best we could do, so stick a cork in it." He replied yet again to my question about the travel arrangements. He proceeded to take a bit of a steak as I chewed quietly on a sandwich. Hudson started getting us back on track with how we could get to Colorado when he looked my way and stopped talking for a moment.

I looked over at him and he seemed to be confused by something as he motioned towards his hairline as he talked. "Do you dye your hair? I can see your roots."

I must have swore loud enough to earn a few people gawking at me as sighed before licking my lips and looking at the both of them. "Yes I dye my hair. I started doing it in that phase where I was old enough to question why my Dad was single and I resented my Mom not being around. Makes sense why she wasn't around now, but yeah... I had a Hermes kid sneak me in some hair dye to keep it from going back to being blonde."

Dom snorted as he looked away, trying to keep from laughing at me. I shot daggers into him with my eyes as I didn't notice Hudson focusing on me real hard, probably trying to picture me as a blonde. "So are you gonna keep dying it?"

I turned to Hudson and gave him look that said 'I'm agitated by this topic' and he raised his hands. "I'm just curious! I just think the black and gold thing looks kind of nice on you."

Surprise must have wash over my face because he started blushing hard as Dominic was struggling now as he banged his fist against the table a few times. He managed to control himself long enough to look at us for a moment, "If you two want, I can move to a different table if you're planning to make out."

Hudson and I both lost it as we spluttered two different versions of gibbering lunacy as Dominic lost it completely and covered his mouth as he tried to shrink under the table, laughing his ass off as I got red in the face for two reasons. "Dominic, I have Greek Fire. Don't make me use it."

That seemed to set him off even more as he almost kicked me in the shin as he thrashed around with laughter. After a short while Hudson and I both started laughing at Dominic's hysterics. This went on a for a while as the adults around us tried to ignore us or rolled their eyes. After we finished laughing and eating, our table went from being the thing we ate off of to being the thing we strategized off of.

Hudson had been explaining that both he and Dom had licenses and we could probably rent a car after our pit stop by the older half-bloods place. I was still confused about who we were meeting but Dominic said the letter was sealed and he didn't wanna risk opening it just in case. Dominic then stated that stealing a car was also a possibility, although his tone was hushed enough to be discreet about it which made me wanna kick him as he had been so loud earlier when he sought to embarrass Hudson and me.

My tall, dark friend shook his head at that, stating that a theft might be too much of a hassle as it would get the cops sniffing unnecessarily. Thinking for a moment, my mouth opened before I could even think about what I was going to say. "Why not see if this guy at the outpost can lend us a car, or if need be, drive us to Colorado?"

They both looked at me with some rather hard to read expressions before exchanging looks. When they started nodding and switched to an expression that said 'that's actually pretty good' like they had just tried fried calamari for the first time and decided they liked it.

"That's a good idea, we'll do that one. Now then, I'm gonna get some sleep, you two can decide first watch." Dominic state before clearing stuff away from the table before he looked to be laying his head down, cradling it in his arms.

"First watch? We're on a train, what could happen?" I asked before Hudson patted me on the shoulder.

"Trust me, a lot can happen anytime, anywhere. Get some sleep and I'll wake Dom up for the next shift." He smiled warmly at me and I felt myself doing the same. Following Dom's example, I lay my head in my arms, closing my eyes as I lay on the table. Closing my eyes, I felt myself drifting into a warm darkness of sleep.

* * *

I felt myself being gently shaken back and forth before my eyes pried themselves open and I saw a large black hand on my shoulder. Hudson was leaning over, softly calling my name as I slowly woke up. Sitting up, I let out the mother of all yawns before stretching. Looking around I saw the view outside the window was stationary.

"Mary, we're at Chicago, we need to switch trains." Hudson stated for my edification. I could only nod as I looked over and saw Dominic slinging his bag over his shoulder and telling me to get the lead out. Stepping off the train, we looked around the platform in very different ways.

Dominic seemed to be looking for threats, Hudson was looking for a sign that would point us toward the other train, and I was looking for a soda machine. Spotting one, I started making my way toward it in a stupor while digging some change out of my pocket. Coming to a stop in front of it, I pulled my hand out of my pocket and grunted in frustration as my coins all dropped onto the concrete platform under my feet.

As I reached down to grab the closest coin, a wrinkled hand met with mine as I quickly woke up after raising my eyes and saw an old woman staring me in the face. Her hair was like faded gold and her eyes black as night and I'm talking the entirety of her eyes. "Buckle up, the silver vial, and beware of red heads."

"What?" I blinked and the moment I opened my eyes, the woman was gone. Looking around frantically, I saw no sign of the old lady. "What the shit was that?" I muttered to myself before looking down to grab my change. The coins were some how arranged in a wavy line with one of those golden Drachma coins at one end. The Omega looking symbol almost made it look like a snake for a minute. A shout from Dom to hurry up made me scoop up the change, drop enough into the machine to grab a Mountain Dew, and then I was jogging back over to my friends.

"You okay? You look spooked." Hudson remarked, as I debated telling them about the old woman.

"No, she looks like she did this morning when she was on her way to the dining pavilion. What happened?" Dominic seemed to be giving me the Eye as if to say 'spit it out' so I took a breath and told them what happened. They exchanged looks before looking back at me.

"Well that's not cryptic at all." Dominic clicked his teeth as he seemed to dislike the story.

"We can mull it over on the train, we need to get going now." Hudson interjected before we distracted ourselves with trying to make sense of the vanishing old lady.

* * *

I was bouncing my knee up and down as I sat in the chair, trying to make sense of it. The words of the old woman echoed in my head like some mantra. _Buckle up, the silver vial, beware of red heads._ I quickly felt around and buckled the belt of my seat, tightening it as Dominic snored quietly across from me. Hudson was away for a visit in the Land of Nod himself in the seat next to me as I played 'first watch' of the second train ride. Looking around, I wondered how the hell we had gotten a car to ourselves, but seeing no one around meant I could try and focus on the mantra.

"Silver vial. What silver vial?" I asked myself quietly. Was it something we'd find on our quest? Was it the key to saving Percy? Was it her ticket to a million bucks? She almost wished the old woman hadn't vanished so she could ask her some questions about the strange list of things she blurted out.

Deciding that I was gonna wind up pulling my hair out from the frustration of not knowing, I looked out the window and let my ADHD drive my mind in the land of 'oooo pretty' lines of thinking. The view was pleasant and I almost forgot to wake Dominic up. After I'd gotten him awake, I lay my head back against the cushioned seat and closed my eyes.

* * *

It's hard to say what woke me up first. It was either Dom yelling at us, the train lurching side ways as it was forced off the tracks, or maybe the sound of something big and angry bellowing near the train. Whatever woke me up first, I came to the rapid conclusion that the train was rolling sideways like a trash can on its side. Needless to say we were all screaming as the world spun around us, trash, our bags, and who knows what else flying around the train car before it came to an abrupt stop against a large rock.

The sudden stop cause me more pain than the rolling around as it smacked my head pretty good against the metal wall of the train. When I could finally managed to focus, Hudson and Dom were pulling me down from the seat, taking car not to drop me as I noticed the train car had stopped upside down. Hudson fussed over me for a moment, getting some ambrosia in me before grabbing some stuff to take car of the bleeding.

Dominic had grabbed his gear and was already crawling out of the train as he seemed to be heading outside to fight whatever had toppled the train. After my head stopped spinning, it was still throbbing for a bit as I was trying to keep my wits about me. Once Hudson finish wrapping a bandage around my head, he handed me my bag and we crawled out of the train just in time to see Dominic fire off two Celestial Bronze slugs at something large, slimy, and angry as it ran out of sight behind a train car.

"What the hell is that thing?" Hudson asked as he pulled three pieces of wood out of his bag and started twisting their ends together. In only a few moments, I watched Hudson stand back up, his bag back on his back as he now held a spear tipped with a leaf shaped blade of Celestial Bronze and a pointed tip on the other end for stabbing.

Dominic shook his head as he reloaded his shotgun, readying his weapon as he looked over to the train car the monster had slipped behind. "If I read about it, it's not coming to mind yet." He stated as I dug my sword out of my hiking pack and held it in my hands as I followed their gaze. Peeking over the top of the train car was the ridge of the monsters back as it lumbered around behind the train car, making a series of agitated noises before it started to wander around to the far side.

As it came into view, I got a good look at it for the first time. It was like someone took a rhino, triceratops, and an elephant, mated them together and then mated that thing with a salamander. As it steadied itself on four legs, its slimy, sleek body shone in the sunlight as it leveled the three horns on its forehead at us. Letting out a bellow, it started to charge as at an alarming rate.


End file.
